Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1887-10-05

tinue.-Jackson Tenn Tribune and
Sun, Aug. 26.
Little Arabs Who Enjoy Themselves In
the Riyer-Defying Policemen.
Before the ice is out Of the river the
talk begins among the boys of this town
as TO who shall be ''the first in Any
body who has not been boy himself will
not, Of course, understand what il is TO
be 1.-THE first in" 1t means the first boy
TO take swim in the waters Of the North
or East river. BY the middle of April,
anyway, some boy has laid the founda-
ton for rheumatism by taking header
off dock. He may not have stayed in
long, but he has achieved feat as great
as dropping off the Brooklyn bridge.
The first swim, being only foT distinc-
ton, Is not Of long duration. II he boy
''goes under" or in other word, SUBJ
merges himself entirely from tho rown
of his head 10 the soles Of his feet, / e has
taken the belt for the season. about
twelve seconds is enough for him t. 20 to
the bottom, clutch handful of mud and
come 10 the surface. When his head pops
up out of water he blows like porloise
and makes straightway for the string
piece Of the dock. He pulls himself out
and reserves his exhibition Of endurance
under the water OF on the surface of the
water for q time when it does not seem
as if he had dropped into the tank Of the
Business Mems Moderation society in
front Of the post Office. which is loaded
up with ice every morning in order 70
give wintry taste 10 the Croton that
runs out Of the faucets during the day.
He is as blue as a milestone, his teeth
rattle like loose easement in the wind,
and the cloth trunk, if he has taken the
trouble to put one on, feels in the cutting
air like piece of flexible ice around his
loins. As soon, however, as he has got
his clothes on and run up and down the
dock few times TO set his blood in cir
culation, he feels like young Comanche
brave who has lifted hair for the first
time. He goes down ON the river front,
] around the Battery and up the other. to
let every boy who is perched ON a scrub
bing post know that he is the earliest
] ablutionist.
There are a number of free baths sta
TONED along the river front. but the wa
ter Just outside of them feels different to
any boy from that inside of them. Ii is
contrary to the city ordinances for any
boy, or anybody else for that matter. to
60 in swimming in the vicinity Of any
dock where passengers embark or dlsem-
bark. II Is also contrary % the city ordi-
nances for anybody to go into the water
at any point improperly dressed. and as
there can be no change from bathing 10
street attire without transcending the reg
ulation, at least for a moment. swimming
/ in any event puts the swimmer under the
ban Of the police. The same spirit that
animates the bald headed. red headed or
any other headed eagle to fly high and
roost out Of the way Of buckshot-the
desire for freedom and immunity from
danger-animates the small boy in keep
ing out Of the reach Of the blue coated
and brass buttoned minions Of the law
when sporting in forbidden water. 1t Is
one Of the greatest problems that a po-
lceman ever tried TO solve to catch a
small boy in the water when the water is
so warm that the boy can stay in il with
out the danger of the blood congealing in
his veins and thus filling his system with
icicles.
At this season of the year the young
water dogs can float in the water all day,
which is good deal longer than police
man can stay on watch. The boys have
to go 20 the open piers TO reach the water,
the hands on the covered piers refusing
| to have them around. They slide down
the big piles and get on the stringpieces
underneath, where they proCeed TO dis
robe. \ policeman might think he would
have the swimmers at his mercy If he
could get under the pier and obtain pos
session of their clothes He might he
able 10 get under the pier, but he would
find obtaining possession Of the clothes a
different thing, He would he about as
able TO work the combination Of a bank
lock as TO find the clothes. The boys
know that TO hang their clothes out IN
plain sight on the beams would be to in
vite appropriation by the police or larceny
by the tramps. There are hiding places
under the piers such rs only boys are ca
pable of finding out. Holes are formed
by the woodwork built on the piles and
the boys discover them by crooklng their
arms around posts and tnbers. Then
,bev dip ont the dccayed spots in the piles
ami poke their clothes down in the apor-
tures. covering them with dirt and rub
bish.
The boys go swimming in coveys, and
the more there are Of them the more de-
fiant they are 20 the police A guardian
of the peace may hang loweringly over
the end Of the pier and shake his club at
dozen boys in the water without ex-
citing more than derision from them.
They will put their thumbs to their
noses, wriggle their fingers in the air and
then execute a somersault in the water
and disappear toward the bottom. The
/ pewsboys and bootblacks are the most
persistent swimmers. They live around
the docks in summer when they are not
selling papers and polishing leather.
They know all the avenues oi escape and
the police fluid them as slippery as cells.
The good little boys who run away
from Sunday school and from day school.
too, are the ones most apt b. he visited by
lust retribution In the sharH Of a police
mans awful grasp. II Is a powesfu
enigma 10 them how the bad boys. Who
spend their pennies for cigarettes ine1>o4
Of putting them ON the collec<im -